Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative by Scott Savran

Author:Scott Savran
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317749080
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

6 The buildup to the confrontation

Khusraw II Parvīz and the rise of the Arabs

Islamic historical memory bears witness to the unraveling of the Sasanian state under Khusraw II Parvīz (r. 591–628), the last effective sovereign of the Sasanian dynasty. In this context, I commence this chaper by examining the account of Parvīz’s rescue by Iyās b. Qabīṣa, chief of the Ṭayyi’ tribe, when the young king was fleeing the rebel Bahrām Chūbīn. I then discuss how, in the Islamic historical tradition, the allure of power and luxuries caused the king to become oppressive of his subjects, decadent, and avaricious for the wealth of others, thus making him the model of the stereotypical monarchical tyranny conceived by Muslim critics of Iranian civilization. It is against the background of the degeneration of Parvīz’s character occurring later in his reign that I will examine the reports of his subsequent dealings with the Arabs, for whom he showed contempt. The first case of such accounts describes the last Lakhmid king, al-Nu‘mān III b. al-Mundhir’s (r. 580–602) visit to the Sasanian court, and the follow-up embassy of Arab notables sent by the Lakhmid ruler in response to the ill treatment he had received from Parvīz during his trip. The second is the account of the Battle of Dhū Qār, which is portrayed in the Islamic tradition as a result of Parvīz’s liquidation of the Lakhmid state. Moreover, the narrative of this battle underlines the bravery of the Arabs in the classic style of the ayyām al-‘Arab genre of literature, while depicting Dhū Qār as a forerunner to the Islamic conquest of Iran. I will conclude by analyzing the depiction of the ominous events occurring towards the end of Parvīz’s reign, as well as Parvīz’s ignominious deposal and execution, which both heralded the fall of the Sasanian dynasty and the rise of the Arabs under the banner of Islam.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.